“Any time I check my mentions,” he said, “they’re going to war with each other.”

It is one of the oddities of modern college athletics recruiting. Social media can provide direct access for fans to the prospects colleges are recruiting, and some attempt to involve themselves in persuading the athletes to choose their favorites. They’re technically not supposed to according to NCAA regulations, but this is pretty much impossible to police or enforce.

Ranked the No. 6 prospect in the class of 2013 by Scout.com, Alexander is a 6-9, 230-pound power forward at Curie Metropolitan High in Chicago. In the summers he plays with 6-11 center Jahlil Okafor, the nation’s No. 1 prospect, with the Mac Irvin Fire. Because has kept himself open to so many elite college programs, because he is the sort of player who fits any style—athletic, devastatingly powerful, mobile, willing to use his physicality to pursue rebounds and protect the lane—he is an ideal example of how and how rapidly college basketball recruiting has changed.

As Kentucky’s John Calipari, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Ohio State’s Thad Matta and Illinois' John Groce watched—among many others—Alexander scored 23 points and dunked at least seven times in Thursday night’s Fire victory over the Jackson Tigers in the second pool-play game at Nike’s EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam. Afterward, he was asked about a number of schools on his longish list of potential college choices, primarily by media that cover those particular schools:

On Kentucky: “Coach Cal is a great guy. I love the campus. A great practice facility. I worked out there when I went down there. He’s a great guy. I love the coaching staff.”

On Louisville: “Louisville, same thing with those guys. Me and Coach (Rick) Pitino have a great relationship since they started recruiting me. We’ll go there from there.”

On Michigan State: “How they develop their players. Coach Izzo is a great guy. The campus is beautiful.”

“Illinois: Yes, of course. Same thing with those guys. I’ve had a great relationship with Coach Groce since he came in.”

It can be a bit tiresome for the athlete. Alexander was asked, not for the first time in the day, which schools he will visit officially. There are some he has already seen on an unofficial basis, so it’s unlikely he will duplicate those trips. That leaves the list of schools to get officials as: Kansas, Memphis, Louisville, Arizona and one more to be determined.

Alexander has adopted a very businesslike approach to all of this. He presented a top 10 list in June that consisted of: Arizona, Baylor, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis and Michigan State. He said Thursday he will not commit “anytime soon.” Offered the chance to engage in a joke about whether he’d counted the dunks he had against Jackson, he passed on the opportunity and simply stated that he never counted dunks or points.

On the more technical aspects of his basketball pursuits, though, he was more engaging.

A couple of times during the game, Alexander showed off an interesting technique on a 12-foot baseline jumper. He shoots it very old-school, pretty close to a set shot, but he showed good form and control as he launched those shots. Alexander has relied for much of his career on superior size, strength and athleticism, playing mostly around the low post. But he’s not a low-post master like former Ohio State All-American Jared Sullinger, and even Sullinger had to develop a perimeter touch because of his size.

Alexander told Sporting News his high school coach, Mike Oliver, “told me that’s what I want to do if I want to play at the next level, so that’s what I’ve been working on.” Since the spring, “I’ve been in the gym 24/7 working on that.”

There are some physical resemblances between Alexander and former UNLV freshman star Anthony Bennett, who in June became the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Bennett, however, was an adept long-distance jump shooter by the time he finished his one season with the Rebels.

“Maybe it can be me, if I work hard and do what he did,” Alexander said.